AoT x Reader one-shots
by Sophie-U.F
Summary: I don't own SnK
1. Chibi Corporals! (Levi)

"It's time to bring her back to the headquarters. They'll be safer here and we need her skills back."  
"I will write the letter now!"

"Miss (f/n)! Miss (f/n)!" a shout echoed loudly.  
The door opened, revealing a (e/c) eyed woman looking down at the exhausted messenger, watching him catch his breath.  
"Jack..." she muttered. "Did anything happen?" she inquired, slightly raising an eyebrow.  
"I have... a letter for you..." he arfed, before taking a deep breath and blurting out: "It has the Survey Corps' seal, I thought it might be something important!"  
(E/c) eyes widened and (s/c) hands snatched the document away from the messenger. The soldiers had only returned from an expedition a couple of days ago; had something happened? No, it couldn't be, he would never fall under those beasts...  
Hurriedly, the cover was disposed of and the paper content neatly unfolded. An eager gaze razored over the familiar handwriting:

'Squad Leader (f/n),  
I, Erwin Smith, Commander of the Recon Corps, hereby announce that you are to return to the headquarters once possible. The Corps require your services once more.  
P.S.: Please, try to hurry. he's extremely worried and that's driving me mad.'

"So... it's finally time to return..." she hummed, the small smile that tugged at her lips turning into a fully bloomed grin. "OH, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" she beamed, hugging the messenger before running back into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~Headquarters~~~~~~~~~~

"What awe you stawing at, damn bwats?!" a cute childish voice reprimanded.  
Googly eyes stared at the kid in awe.  
"See?! I told you it really was the corporal!" Sasha noted.  
"I see it, but I don't believe it..." muttered Jean; Connie and Reiner nodded in agreement.  
In front of them stood no other than the humanity's strongest soldier, but something was off... the corporal was small, well, smaller than usual; he was a child.  
Looking him over once again, it just had to be him... The eyes, the hair, the scowl, the voive, he was even wearing the military gear... There was no mistake.  
"Do you think squad leader Hanji experimented on him again?" Connie inquired.  
"Maybe..." muttered Reiner.  
"Why isn't he chasing her off then?" remarked Jean.  
"Maybe he lost her! No wonder, with those cute tiny legs!" cooed the only female in the group.  
"Oi, bwats!" barked the small corporal, puffing his cheeks up a little. "I'm not cute! Cleaning duty fow a week!"  
"NOW!" yelled the child, sitting down to supervise the four cadets as they began cleaning the floor and walls.

"What the hell ish thish?!" echoed a cute girly voice, sounding extremely annoyed. "The shtablesh are absholutely filthy!"  
A tiny figure came into sight…  
"What the…!?" Eren blinked as the new presence approached.  
"CORPORAL?!" a choir of voices resounded in astonishment.  
A small girl stood in front of them, a small copy of the Lance Corporal himself (if he was a girl)… Same eyes, same hair (but longer), same tone; hell, she even wore the military gear!  
"Squad Leader Hanji…?" Christa mumbled.  
"Most likely." Mikasa agreed.  
"But she's adorable!" cooed Ymir. "Don't you think, Christa?"  
"A-ah!" the blond nodded.  
"Shtop blabbering and get to work, shtupid bratsh!" growled the little girl.  
"B-but we already..." whined the only male in the group.  
"You shay thish ish clean? NO! Thish place ish grosh and filthy! Don't you know how to clean properly? Do it again!" demanded the child.  
"But..." tried Eren once again.  
"Did I shtutter, cadet?"  
"No..."  
"Then get to cleaning!"  
"Yes, heichou..." grumbled a choir of defeated voices.

Walking down the hallway, Armin found a child crying on a corner. Worried, the blond approached carefully so as to not startle the kid.  
"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked in a soothing tone. "Are you lost?"  
The small boy sobbed one more time before looking up at the newcomer. The child's features seemed familiar, but the cadet couldn't quite remember where from... The boy possessed sharp (e/c) eyes and (h/c) short flawlessly-combed-back hair.  
Warily, the child nodded his head.  
"Hm... I see..." mused the blond, smiling lightly. "My name's Armin, what's yours?"  
"Erwin..."  
"Erwin, you say...?" chuckled the blond out of surprise. "Tell me, how about you come with me to the library, so that after I help you find your parents?"  
"YES, I love books!" the boy nodded excitedly.

Alarmed, (f/n) reached her bestfriend's office and knocked franctically on the door. A faint 'come in' was heard from the other side.  
"Hanji!" she cried out, violently throwing the door open.  
"Oh, (f/n), you're here already!" chirped the older woman, raising her head from her drawn titans, only to notice her friend's panicked expression. "What's wrong?"  
"They vanished! I looked away from the second and on the next they weren't there! I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find them anywhere!" blurted the younger, violently waving her arms around.  
"Oi, (f/n), calm down!" Hanji chuckled, dropping her hands upon the shorter female's shoulders in order to catch her attention. "They can't have gotten far. Come on, I'll help you search for them!"

-Time Skip-

"There! Every single corridor of the upper floor, shining brighter than the sun itself!" declared Jean, slumping down beside his exhausted comrades. "Are you happy? Can we stop now...?"  
"No!" snapped the child. "I'm hungry! I want to eat!"  
One more whine left the cadets' lips.  
"You!" demanded the tiny corporal, pointing at the only female present. "Cawy me, it's time fow lunch!"  
"Yes, sir..."

"Stables shining, bathrooms immaculated..." Eren breathed out, enjoying the peace that would last no more than a second.  
"I'm hungry! I want food!" cried out the little girl.  
Out of a sudden, Christa got up and picked up the child.  
"Then let's take you to have lunch now, okay?" suggested the blonde with a sweet voice.

"Armin...!" the little boy called, tugging on the soldier's sleeve.  
"What is it, Erwin?"  
"I'm hungry... Can we go have lunch now?" pleaded the child.  
"Sure!" chuckled the cadet, getting up and taking Erwin's hand in his. "Let's go then!"

Not in the stables, not in the bathrooms, not in the rooms, not in the training grounds, not anywhere...  
"My babies..." whispered (f/n), sobbing heavily into her bestfriend's shoulder.  
"Calm down, sweetie!" shushed Hanji. "What if we pay a visit to the mess hall? It is lunch time after all, maybe they're there! Eh?" urged the brunette.  
Exasperated, the (h/c) haired female nodded weakly.

"Where's everyone?" questioned the commander, noticing half of the cadets missing.  
"I don't fucking care." growled the corporal.  
Minutes passed, during which time the trio spoke about the upcoming expedition.  
"A strange smell lingers in the air..." Mike noted as the 104th trainee squad members began to fill in the rest of the mess hall.  
dumbfounded expressions found their way to the cadets' faces as, one by one, they noticed the adult Lance Corporal sitting right beside the Commander; although, the murderous glare soon forced them to look away.  
Having finished eating, Levi got up, ready to resume to his paperwork.

At four different doorsteps, simultaneously, four distinct individuals appeared... Four pairs of eyes fell upon the same person... Four different voices echoed loudly in the mess hall...  
"LEVI!"/"DADDY!"/"PAPA!"/"DAD!"  
Startling everyone, a woman and three children took off running towards the same spot.  
Lacking the necessary time to react, the humanity's strongest soldier was tackled to the ground with a loud thud and a huff.  
"What the actual f-...?"  
"I missed you so much!" (f/n) muttered, nuzzling her cheek on the man's strong chest.  
"WE MISSED YOU, PAPA!" the three children cried out, clinging to the corporal's torso for dear life.  
A soft smile found it's way to the man's face, as his arms surrounded the four, hugging them as close as he could.  
"I missed you too, brats..."

~~~~~~~~~~  
"I never thought the corporal would have a family!" Eren mused.  
"I can't believe I was bossed around by a kid..." Jean flinched.

"HEY! I heawd that, thwee months cleaning duty!" Farlan growled.  
"NO WAY! It shoulb be shtablesh duty!" argued his twin sister, Isabel.  
"WHAT?! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT IT, KIDS! I AIN'T DOING IT!" horse-face yelled.  
"Kirstein!" warned Levi. "You heard them!"

"HEY, WHAT ABOUT ME? AUNTY HANJI WANTS A HUG TOO!"


	2. Dinosaurs (Armin)

"Dinosaurs...?" mused the blond, attentively testing the way the word rolled out his tongue. "No, I've never heard about it."  
"Oh..." muttered the (h/c) haired girl, her expression filling with disappointment as she sat back down and resumed to eat her breakfast.  
"Why did you ask?" Armin inquired, not liking to see his friend down.  
"Well, I found this book in the library... Huh... A dinosaur encyclopedia, I think, but I didn't really have the time to read anything since the corporal found me and put me doing chores..." she explained, an annoyed tone coming out at the mention of the short superior. "And I was kinda hoping that you could explain me about dinosaurs..." she confessed, a light pink dusting her cheeks.  
"Well, I have an idea, but... for that, we'll have to break the curfew rule!" he said.  
"What is it?" urged the girl, noticing how Sasha had suddenly scooted a little too close to her.  
"Well... After dinner, we could pay a visit to the library so you'd show me that book...!" he muttered. "Though we really can't afford being caught by the corporal."  
"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" beamed the (e/c) eyed female; slapping Sasha's hand away from her food while hearing the brunette's whimpers about a monster that didn't let her eat.  
The blond cadet smiled sweetly at the sight, a light blush tinting his cheeks as the girl's agreement to his idea.

\- Time Skip -

"Ah, here it is!" whisper-yelled the (h/c), swiftly taking a book from the shelf.  
Wide blue eyes ran over the cover, studying every detail of it.  
"Are those... lizards?" he muttered.  
"Not sure... They do look like it though!" shrugged the girl, sitting down beside the blond and leaning her head on his shoulder as he opened the rather large book.  
10pm...  
11pm...  
The facts and drawings of the reptiles; from smaller than a human baby to far larger than a 15m class titan, (e/c) and blue eyes visualized hundreds of the other-worldly creatures in pure amazement...  
Midnight...  
1am...  
Tiredness, sleep began to crawl up and reach the mind closer to the ground. Slowly batting, the eyelids became heavier and heavier until (e/c) orbs closed for the world.  
2am...  
3am...  
Waiting for an answer, Armin tilted his head to the side, only then realizing that his partner was fast asleep... A soft smile crossed the male's lips.  
He put the book aside and, carefully as to not disrupt his friend's sleep, laid down with her in the sea of puffs hidden in a corner of the library.  
Gently, (h/c) strands were brushed off the girl's face and her forehead slightly tingled at the goodnight kiss it received.  
"Sleep well, (f/n)! I'll be by your side when you wake..." muttered the blond cadet. "..., my beloved!"


	3. Nightmare (Levi)

The loud cries echoed on the stone walls and pavement, filling the entire floor with the pained groans.  
(E/c) eyes fluttered open as the familiar timber awakened her senses; it was beyond her how everyone managed to sleep through this, maybe their snoring muffled the ghostly whimpers invading the hallways...  
Feet left the warm comfort of the bed to meet the icy floor. Shivers assaulted her as she moved towards her wardrobe to pick a small blanket, before she could leave the safety of her room to go find someone.

The outside was dark, the torches were cold; light had abandoned the castle's corridors hours before. The hallways held no sound, other than the constant fearful cries and the occasional snore.  
Silently, she carefully trudged her way through the thick darkness; her feet cooling down a bit more everytime she stepped on the icy tiles of the floor; her mind aching more everytime the weak whimpers reached her ears.  
Finally, after endless minutes of walking, finally, she reached the quarters she had been aiming for.  
(S/c) hands reaching out, the girl winced slightly as the cold of the metallic door handle passed through her skin.  
'It's open... Gladly!' she thought.  
The wooden was pushed open, gently so as to not make any sudden and possibly disturbing sound. One feathery step after the other, her body was finally fully inside the room. The temperature seemed to drop even further; the room was not cold, it was freezing.  
Quietly, the (h/c) haired female walked from the office's to the room's door. This second door was gently pushed open, just like the previous one had been.  
A single peek inside... Covers and sheets were out of place, some splayed out covering the ground; loud cries filled the small division, the waves of sound endlessly reflecting on the walls; a male figured tossed and turned upon the bed again and again, his throat sore from all the effort...  
Inch by inch, (f/n) reached the bed, sitting down beside the restless form. Carefully, her hand reached to gently caress his face.  
"Levi..." she called softly. "Levi, wake up!"  
The man suddenly shot up, a last scream abandoning his throat, startling the girl a bit.  
He took his hands to his head, his eyes overly widened as he frantically rocked back and forth, large streams of tears running down his pale cheeks.  
"Levi..." she called once again.  
The male's head snapped to the side at the familiar voice, shock had surpassed the fear on his expression.  
"(F-f/n)..." he muttered, before throwing his arms around the girl and bringing her close to him. "(F/n)... You're alive...!"  
"Of course I am!" she chuckled, parting away a little so she could look him in the eyes. "You know you'd never get rid of me as easily as that...!"  
"I know..." he muttered, placing his head on the crook of her neck.  
"But...?" she urged.  
"Oh, nothing... It's just these fucking dreams! They look so... real..."  
A frown took over the female's features. Gently, she stroked his hair.  
"What did you see...?" (f/n) wondered fearfully.  
"Our first expedition..." he whispered. "Farlan... Isabel... But this time, I couldn't reach you in time..."  
"It's okay to be scared, Levi. I've told you this many times before, you are no superhuman; no matter how much you believe you have to be..." she stated. "And, anyway, I promised we would always, ALWAYS, be together. Remember? And I don't like to skip on my promises...!"  
Minutes passed in complete silence, only two lovers tightly held on each other's embrace.  
"(F/n)..." Levi called out, his drowsy voice catching the girl's attention. "Will you sleep with me tonight?"  
"Of course, Levi..."

"I love you, clean freak!"  
"As do I, brat!"


	4. Painful Training (Levi)

'Time to get up!' a voice announced deep inside her brain.  
"No!" muttered the girl, curling further into herself, her hands tightly grasped the pure white sheets as she tried to send away the strong waves of pain that had assaulted her in the middle of the night and showed no intention of going away anytime soon.

-9am-Mess Hall-

"Where's (f/n)?" wondered Eren, looking around around as food was stuffed in his mouth, noticing said girl was nowhere to be seen. "She's never late!"  
"She was still sleeping when I left!" babbled Sasha, her mouth filled with bread.  
"Maybe I should go wake her up..." Christa suggested. "The corporal wouldn't be happy if she didn't attend the evaluations..."  
Around the table, several heads nodded in agreement, observing the the blond as she abandoned the hall with Ymir following close behind.

-female quarters-

"(F/n)! (F/n)! Wake up!" Christa called in a sweet tone, gently shaking her friend's moaning form.  
After 10 painfully long minutes... A tanned hand grasped the pristine sheets, violently yanking them away from the half-sleeping girl.  
"OI, YMIR, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" snapped (f/n), sitting up on her now coverless bed while glaring at the tall brunette.  
"I~ am waking you up, so that YOU can get to the training grounds in time for the evaluation and don't get in trouble with the midget!" she stated matter-of-factly.  
(E/c) eyes widened largely in realization.  
"E-evaluation... today..." stuttered the (h/c). "AH, I FORGOT!"  
Jumping away from the not-so-soft mattress, the (e/c) eyed girl ran around the room, starting to get ready after telling the duo to to go on ahead and promising to join them soon after; though not before Christa placing two loaves of bread upon her just-as-short friend's hands, fully aware that the latter would have no time to go fetch breakfast for herself. A real angel she was, that blond cutie.  
Get dressed; put on a pad; organise the bed; brush her teeth; shove the bread down her own throat an run...

Right on time! (F/n) had painfully stumbled into formation less than a second before the superiors arrived the place. A sigh of relief abandoned the (s/c) lips; a single second later and she would've been too late...

~~~3DMG Training~~~  
Mikasa, excellent; Eren, good; Armin, decent; Jean, good; Christa, decent; Ymir, excellent; Sasha, good; Reiner, excellent; Bertholdt, excellent; Connie, decent; (f/n)... terrible...!  
Everything had been going marvelously, everyone doing a great job as they managed their best...  
It was (f/n)'s turn, at last. She took off not-as-gracefully-as-usually, but it was okay for everyone has bad days; she swinged around not-as-swiftly-as-usually, but that was okay for everyone has bad days; she not-as-meticulously-as-usually cut the nape of the first wooden titan, but that was also okay for not everyday can be a good day; and then... (E/c) orbs were locked on the next target, the maneuver gear attached to this second wooden titan. A sharp pain stabbed heavily at the cadet's abdomen; the focus were lost, her vision was blurred. A loud thud echoed as the female body crashed into the wooden figure, causing it to fall down. Loose wires threw the uncontrollably around like a rag doll as the figurine fell, until, that is... her body was thrown away, crashing into a large tree.  
Curled up on the ground near the gigantic tree's roots, bracing herself while moaning in pain, her eyes tightly closed.  
"Oi, brat!" came the oh-so-familiar growl. "What the f*ck do you think you're doing?" demanded the corporal, slightly poking the girl's back with his foot, only earning more whimpers from the cadet.  
"Stop it, shorty! You're hurting her!" Hanji intervened, gathering the pained figure in her arms; Erwin kneeled down and softly patted the cadet's head.  
"Are you alright, (l/n)?" inquired the commander. "Maybe you should stay put for today."  
"I'm fine, sir! I can continue!" assured the cadet, her voice muffled by the older woman's overtightly embrace and the same's jacket.

~~~Horse Riding Circuit~~~  
Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Jean, Christa, Ymir, Sasha, Reiner, Bertholdt, Connie... Everyone was riding exceptionally well, until the superiors' eyes fell upon... (f/n)...  
"What the f*ck, cadet!?" Levi's shout echoed, the corporal was clearly annoyed.  
On top of the saddle was (f/n), so far so good, but... instead of sitting down, she had her feet securely supported on the saddle and was curled down into fetal position. Wide (e/c) eyes blinked fearfully at the notice of whom the raven-haired male was talking to.  
Her horse, as all others, stopped.  
"I'm sorry, but it's really painful to sit down properly, sir!" she blurted out, suddenly standing up; for an instant, she managed an extremely sloppy salute, but, without any balance at all, she immediately fell down from the horse. A pained groan abandoned (s/c) lips as the girl, once again, clutched her stomach tightly.  
"You really should stop hurting her, shorty!" Hanji mused, happily skipping towards the girl in order to help her up.  
"I DIDN'T DO SH*T, SH*TTY GLASSES!" snapped the humanity's *cough*shortest*cough* strongest soldier.

~~~Hand to hand Combat~~~  
Levi... Everyone had to face Levi... Needless to say, no one could stand the beating for more than 5 minutes (Mikasa held the record time of 4min48sec, according to Reiner and Bertholdt who had been betting about everyone's times).  
Once again, the last one was the most disastrous one, not to mention rather ridiculous as well.  
(F/n) stood facing the corporal. A few seconds passed before the raven head lunged forward, throwing a punch at the girl; bad timing, a wave of pain surged through the girl, making her bend over in pain, avoiding the superior's fist right on time; this process repeated itself 8 more times before the short man snapped.  
"WHAT THE F*CKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, IDIOT?!" he demanded, looking down at the bent over girl.  
A groan of pain...  
"Corporal..." Armin called softly.  
"Not now, Arlert!" growled the older soldier.  
A whimper...  
"But, sir..." Christa.  
"I said not now!" insisted Levi.  
"SIR, SHE'S BLEEDING!" Jean panicked.  
A loud thud... The girl had collapsed. Greyish eyes widened in shock.  
(F/n)'s pants were half covered in blood. He hadn't even touched her, so... where had all the blood come from?  
A yell...  
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Hanji ran up to the girl, kneeling down beside her.  
"I DON'T KNOW, I DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH HER!" Levi shouted back.  
"THAT CAN'T B-" Hanji started, being interrupted by Christa:  
"Squad Leader Hanji... (F/n)'s not hurt, she's just with... you know..."  
"OH! That makes perfect sense, seeing how her day was!" beamed the titan-lover, suddenly turning to Levi. "So~, good news: this wasn't your fault in any way! All she needs is a bath and resting, now if you don't mind..." in a moment, she disappeared, calling out for 'her babies'.  
All the cadets slipped away, excusing themselves with 'cleaning'. Since when did they do that out of free will?  
Erwin and Mike had also disappeared, muttering nonsense about the upcoming expedition.  
Silvery orbs, once again, fell upon the fainted figure.  
"Lucky me..." he muttered, carefully picking the girl up and taking her inside.

Silently, he sat on his desk scribbling on the papers; every now and then, he glanced at the open door of his room...  
Among pristine sheets and covers, (f/n), now clean and warm, rested peacefully.  
A sigh of relief left the male's pale lips as his hand placed the pen down and he leaned back.  
He had never imagined himself in such position... His cheeks were still warm from the moment when he realized what the real 'problem' had been; how embarrassing it was, having to go ask one of the female cadets for help, having to admit he knew nothing about how to tend to someone in such situation, being the target of the girls' chuckles and giggles, having to have Christa (the shyest of all cadets) to help him and explain him how everything worked...  
11pm... It was starting to get late when the corporal approached the bed again. Shirt off, pants replaced; the raven head slipped into the covers beside the younger female. It didn't take him long to fall asleep...

2am... (E/c) eyes fluttered open, quickly taking in her surroundings: she was inside a room she couldn't recognize at first, it was nighttime already, and... a half-naked corporal was asleep and holding her close. Pink dusted (s/c) cheeks as she became aware of the man's toned chest and stomach.  
Now... last she remembered, she was on the training grounds on a combat with no other than the man now sleeping soundly beside her...  
Thinking a bit, she came to her conclusion...  
"Thank you, for taking care of me..." she mused, her voice low so as to not wake her companion.  
"You better be!"  
Looking up in surprise, silver orbs stared intently at her form.  
"You were a f*cking huge load of trouble!" he stated.  
"No one forced you to take care of me, you could've let me there!" she huffed.  
"I guess... At least I wouldn't have had cadets mocking me because I needed help." he growled, his brow twitching ever-so-lightly.  
"Then why didn't you ignore me?" urged the (h/c).  
"Figure it out yourself, cadet!" he said. "Also, you are to remain in here until that... thing ends. Now, sleep!"  
"But..."  
"Sleep!"  
"Yes, sir..."

"It's Levi!"  
"Yes, Levi...!"


	5. Promise (Levi)

**_Promise that you'll stay for the sunset_**

The dinner at the HQ was quiet, silent... The older ones had lost too many this time, the younger ones were still too shocked at the turn of events of what had been their first expedition outside...  
The dinner was silent, just like their return had been, just like was everyone's walk to their respective beds... Sadness, despair filled the regiment as all had to return to rooms with beds that would now be empty, stripped of their now dead owners...  
Little by little, the mess hall was emptied until only one person was left, one person who had refused to budge even after his friends had insisted that he needed to rest... He couldn't... He refused to see their mutilated corpses, he refused to hear their terrified screams; he couldn't sleep, he couldn't rest, he couldn't close his eyes, for then he would only have the visions of his failure and helplessness...  
Time passed as thoughts slowly ran through his head. By now, the torches that illuminated the cold and dark castle were out, leaving as only source of light the small candle which flame still endured the darkness for the sake of the man that sat alone upon one of the wooden benches inside the large room known as the mess hall.  
Half an hour later, the tiny flame died down. Silvery orbs, now enveloped in thick darkness, regained the focus and the male got up, finally moving after so long.

 _ **And when the moon shines through the darkness**_

A low thumping echoed endlessly throughout the corridors' darkness, breaking the heavy silence that dominated the ancient building. Past the long hallways, past an uncountable number of small doors, past an enormous wooden door; darkened pools of silver finally came to face the outside...  
The crystalline moonlight coated everything in a ghostly, heavenly glow; water and grass sent back soft reflections of the silvery rays of light, trees and flowers appeared to emanate a glow of themselves, a tiny but thick layer of fog covered the ground barely reaching enough height to cover one's feet...  
No shuffling of dirt and plants was heard, no cracking of twigs echoed... The male moved in complete silence towards his destination, not sparing a single glance back at the imponent figure of the old castle.

 ** _We can find the path that leads us home_**

 _Once again, blood and death were the results... Once again, an expedition that turned out as fruitless as so many before...  
Sadness, despair, fear, guilt, shock filled the gloomy regiment. The soldiers remained silent, darkened orbs casted downwards as heads hang down.  
The now greatly reduced regiment known as the Scouting Legion quietly moved up the streets of the Shiganshina District, the echo of the horses' trotting was the only sound that raised from the tight military formation; children gazed at the soldiers in admiration while adults sneered while either commenting the Corps' inutility or searching for family and friends... Inside the formation, some soldiers also searched for their closest companions.  
A pair of narrow eyes widened at the sight of the one he had been looking for ever since they crossed the gate; carefully, the man urged his horse forward until he reached the intended position. Two brown horses now trotted side-by-side, each carrying a squad leader, though one carried an extra bit of weight...  
Pools of silver moved from the maniac scientist, Hanji Zoe, to the slightly younger girl who was safely gathered in the woman's arms... (E/c) caught grey and a sweet smile spread on the (h/c)'s gentle features; a (s/c) hand shakily touched the man's arm, sending a wave of warmth through him, and her voice echoed:  
"We're home!"_

 ** _And on the way you'll, maybe, sing me a song  
_**  
 _Moans of pain and fearful whimpers filled the room... Rather violent thrashing sent covers and sheets flying away from the bed... Beads of sweat coated the pale forehead with a shining layer...  
A (s/c) hand gently shook the soldier awake as a feminine voice softly called out his name.  
Narrow eyes shot open and the man slowly took his surroundings in, a relieved sigh abandoned his slightly parted pale lips. Thin arms surrounded the male figure who returned the comforting embrace.  
"I'm here, it's alright... It was but a nightmare!" she assured.  
"I don't know if I can go back to sleep..." he muttered, before pleading: " Can you sing for me?"  
"Of course."  
A sweet voice hummed a low tranquilizing tune, causing glimmering silver eyes to close, bit-by-bit, until a soft snore reverberated on the man's chest.  
"Sleep tight, my love...!"_

 ** _Promise that you always will be there_**

 _That night was dark, the moon was new, only the few stars in sight tried to lit up the sky and the earth below. Orbs fixed upon a particularly bright star, the soldier quietly sat on the roof, where he had been for a while now...  
Noticing a certain someone had failed to attend the last meal of the day, a (h/c) soldier gathered a bit of extra food and departed in search for the missing person. For nearly two hours, she wandered around, after leaving the food in the office, before finally finding the one she had been looking for all along quietly sitting on top of the old building...  
He was focused, pensive, entranced with his own thoughts; she decided against disturbing the male... So she waited; she stood there for, maybe, half an hour more, pools of (e/c) never leaving the figure enveloped in the night's darkness; she stood there until he acknowledged her presence at last, confessing what had always embarrassed him the most:  
"I'm scared..." he admitted, finally uttering something after long hours of silence...  
"Of what?" whispered the girl, taking a sit beside her companion. She figured what the answer was, but only what he would say could confirm her suspicions; and so he did...  
From Farlan and Isabel, to the last expedition and the (h/c)'s returning conditions... Small tears ran down pale cheeks, he expressed how terrified he felt at the thoughts of losing someone important yet again.  
"Don't cry, I'm here with you!" said the girl, embracing the sobbing form while affectionately petting raven strands of hair.  
"Promise me..." demanded the man, tightly clutching to the female.  
"What...?!" (e/c) eyes widened largely and (s/c) lips formed a tiny 'o' in surprise.  
"Promise me you will always be by my side!" the order came.  
(S/c) features softened, a sweet smile spread, a small chuckle echoed, thin arms tightened...  
"I promise...!"_

 _ **Hold my hand if ever I'm real scared**_

 _"Do we really?" trembled the (h/c) head, face drained of all colour as she stared at the rather dark staircase.  
"Yeah, we really do need those files!" Hanji nodded. "I have to go now, I'm supervising training today... Thanks for doing this though, you really are the best!"  
Soon, the scientist was out of sight. A heavy sigh, a shiver up the spine; how exactly she was supposed to go around the enormous basement on her own, she didn't know... Dark, more than anything else, terrified her; as her bestfriend, the brunette should've known, but alas, here she was now, pondering whether or not to face her worst fear...  
"Need help with that?"  
She gazed away from the passageway; silver orbs emotionlessly stared into hers and a pale hand took one of hers. With a light tug she was urged forward towards the staircase that lead to the basement.  
Reaching the last stair, the girl flinched and would've fall backwards if not for the foreign hand grasping her own...  
"Stop being stupid, I'll help you find those files!" echoed the familiar voice, revealing a rather annoyed tone.  
"You...?"  
"Don't worry, I won't let go!" he assured._

 ** _Help me stand up tall if I fall down_**

 _It wasn't raining, but dark clouds had covered sun and sky for the day and a soft breeze blew across the grounds, agitating the lake and the trees...  
Thousands of thoughts ran through her tired mind; the death of her squad and the fear of losing her friends, these thoughts haunted her...  
Large streams of tears covered (s/c) cheeks and (h/c) bangs hid pools of (e/c) from sight as she sat upon the shiny grass by the lake, back pressed against the trunk of a tall tree, legs hugged close to her chest...  
Feeling a small pressure on the top of her head, she raised it... There he was, kneeling down beside her, his softened steel-like orbs stared directly into hers, his pale lips tightened slightly and his eyebrows furrowed in a frown.  
"What happened?" he wondered gently, wiping the girl's wet cheeks.  
"I keep thinking about it... last expedition..." she muttered, her gaze returning to the agitated surface of the lake. "They died... Britta, Fabian, Viktor, Frederick, Oliver... They died because I couldn't protect them... I couldn't do a thing...!"  
"Look at me!" he demanded, forcing the girl to comply. "Don't blame yourself! They were aware of the possibility of death, yet they kept fighting, even when they knew they would die. They died on the fulfilment of their duty, and I believe they died with no regrets!"  
"How can you be sure?"  
"I saw them, they passed with a smile."  
Slowly, an hour passed by. The man eventually fell asleep, holding the girl close as she comfortably sat on his lap. A sweet smile crossed the (h/c)'s features and her (s/c) hand gently drew circles on his chest.  
"You always know what to say... Thank you...!" she whispered, eyelids fluttering down._

 _ **Make me laugh away on my bluest days**_

 _"I already told you not to blame yourself for their deaths." came an annoyed voice, steel gaze fixed upon the one picking at the food.  
"Sorry... It's a bit hard..." the girl sighed, placing her hand down.  
A 'tch' echoed and, in a second, (s/c) cheeks were pinched and stretched in a rather violent manner. She was being forced to...  
"Smile!" he demanded.  
"Shtopf itsh, itsh hurtsh!" shrieked the female, beginning to rub her sore cheeks after he released them.  
"Smile then!" he ordered, glaring at his companion. "Before I have to make use of drastic measures."  
"I'm sorry, Levi... I really don't feel like smiling..."  
"Fine." one more sigh and he tackled her, sending crashing onto the ground.  
Tickles... She had always been extremely ticklish; a secret only he and Hanji knew about, an information he would now put to use. He refused to let her just be sad; no matter what, he would do everything, always, to make her smile.  
Several pairs of eyes stared awkwardly at the one deemed 'humanity's strongest'; he had never been one to act so openly, much less in public, much less on such a filthy surface, yet there he was laughing and rolling around with the (h/c)...  
"Please, Levi, I can't breath!" she pleaded between laughter and gasps for air.  
"Should I?"  
"Yes!"  
The tickling, though in a painfully slow manner, stopped and the older soldier rolled off of the girl, letting her lay on the ground to catch her breath as he returned to his seat and resumed to his meal.  
"You really should stop doing that." the girl chuckled, a bright smile engraved on her features as she dusted her clothes and returned to her seat.  
"Doing what? Make you smile?"_  
 _ **  
How could you promise you always would be there  
Why'd you have to go away somewhere**_  
 _  
He couldn't see anything, the rain and heavy fog clouded his vision entirely... They had been ambushed, the tight formation had been completely dispersed, he had lost sight of every single one of his companions...  
For hours, he fought his way through the thick ghostly forest before he could finally find someone.  
Hanji... She seemed sad, she had been crying... she was never like this; no matter what, she always put on a smile for both others and herself. So why... why was she crying?  
The soft shuffling of light steps on the dirt alerted the woman, brown orbs clouded with sadness faced the newcomer; the brunette's already grave expression twisted with even more agony at the notice of the man's identity... What could she say? How could she tell him? Only one thing went through her mind, the same only thing she could force herself to say to her friend...  
"I'm sorry..."_

"You promised you'd stay by my side forever... How could you leave me like this?"

 _ **Every morning into every night  
Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky**_

"Are you, at least, watching over me, like you said you would?"

 _"Do you really think you can keep your promise?" the hand that had been gently petting his hair ceased said action, causing him to sit up, his head being lifted from his companion's lap.  
"What do you mean?" she echoed, (e/c) gaze fixed on her lap, where his head had been resting just a moment prior.  
"Can you really keep the promise? That you always will be by my side... that you won't... die..."  
"You know I can't promise I'll survive..." she sighed, her eyes closing for a moment.  
Pale lips parted slightly to murmur something, however, the attempt was interrupted by the girl who continued:  
"Although... I CAN promise that, even if I die, even if I am nothing but a wandering spirit, I will never leave your side! I will keep watching over you, forever!"_

 _ **Am I all alone, standing in your light**_

The large iron gate stood tall amidst gigantic trees. He had finally arrived...  
His boots clicked on the pathway's worn out stones. Step after step, he got closer and closer to his destination... Tens, hundreds, thousands; he passed more memorials than he would ever be able to count as the way to the only one he had ever completely placed his trust on was made.  
At the very end of this old graveyard stood an enormous willow tree; at it's roots, the largest of all memorials (made by no other than Corporal Levi himself). Beautiful tended-to bushes of (flower) framed the wonderfully engraved stone with the inscription:  
'Here lies (f/n) (l/n), proud member of the Survey Corps, loved friend, daughter and fiancée. Killed on the fulfilment of her duty, may she rest in peace and become the angel all believed her to be.'

 _ **I wish that I could, maybe, sing you a song tonight**_

The moonlight reached the forgotten place, passing through the willow tree's branches and leaves, lighting up the memorial with a heavenly glow.  
Carefully, the man kneeled down, placing hands and forehead upon the cold surface of the stone. Eyes closed, voice low, he told her how everything was going, how everyone was doing; a tear fell at each spoken word as he still held the hope of a response he knew he would never get...  
An hour slowly passed by before he sat down, leaning on the grave, eyes still closed as he began to hum a song, the song she would always sing to help him sleep...  
There, the corporal would remain in deep slumber until the following afternoon, when someone would find him asleep on the filthy dirt he despised so much.

 _ **You promised me we'd stay for the sunset**_

 _"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you... I love you, (f/n)...!" these had been his last words that night.  
This time, though, something was different... she replied; in the soft breeze of the night, he heard the voice he had missed so much...  
"I'm still here with you, Levi... I love you too!"_


End file.
